HARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell wants the Legislature to approve his $10 billion plan to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private operator by mid-June, but that seems increasingly unlikely.

First, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission itself is mounting a furious counterattack, hiring a Harrisburg-based public relations firm that has created a new Web site listing reasons against the leasing. That firm, the Bravo Group, is working with influential lobbyist Michael Long, a former aide to Republican state senators who often oppose Democrat Rendell's policies.

Also, Republicans in both the House and Senate continue to cast a skeptical eye on the proposal to lease out the turnpike. They fear the state would lose control of a valuable, money-making asset and turnpike tolls could mount under a private operator, hurting motorists.

And now the opposition is growing with the formation of a new group calling itself the PA Coalition for Sound Transportation Policy, also known as PennDrive.

So far no one is naming those who are behind the organization. In an unsigned letter dated April 26, obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PennDrive describes itself as "a statewide group of individuals, businesses and organizations dedicated to crafting a responsible long-term transportation funding" system for the state.

The letter lambastes Mr. Rendell's privatization proposal, claiming it will result in "sky-high [turnpike] tolls and the potential loss of thousands of Pennsylvania jobs."

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission spokesman Bill Capone insisted the commission isn't funding the new coalition.

"I don't know anything about PennDrive," he said. "I've never heard of it."

Rendell aide Chuck Ardo said, "I have no idea who's behind this and I'm not willing to speculate."

Mr. Capone did disclose that the turnpike commission is paying the Bravo Group $26,000 a month to generate publicity opposing the governor's privatization plan. But Bravo isn't working with the PennDrive coalition, said Bravo spokeswoman Jeannette Krebs.

The turnpike commission's contract with Bravo started in January and runs until June 30, though it could be renewed.

The PennDrive coalition has set up a new Web site, www.penndrive.org, and plans to list more details opposing the turnpike lease.

That Web site counters a new site unveiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, www.rideonpa.org, which touts the advantages of the governor's privatization plan.

And there's a third Web site devoted to the turnpike fracas, www.paturnpike.com/ppp/, which Bravo created for the turnpike commission.

That means taxpayers and turnpike users are paying for two of the new Web sites on opposite sides of the controversy.

Mr. Rendell thinks a private firm would offer the state a one-time payment of at least $10 billion for the 67-year-old toll road. He would invest that upfront payment and generate, he claims, at least $965 million a year to use in fixing state roads and bridges.

Under the Rendell plan, the turnpike commission would go out of business.

The PennDrive coalition's letter claims that leasing the 537-mile turnpike to a private operator "would derail a $4.2 billion capital improvement plan the turnpike [commission] is currently implementing."

It continues: "A lease would defy the voters who overwhelmingly oppose a sale or lease to any private or foreign-based operator." That claim was based on a poll of 800 voters in April, two thirds of whom said they oppose privatization.

The PennDrive letter claims that privatization "will benefit shareholders in foreign companies -- not the Pennsylvania taxpayers and the motorists who built the turnpike."

The letter fails to mention that the turnpike commission raised the tolls by 44 percent in 2004 and plans to raise them again as soon as 2010, and perhaps each year thereafter.

The Post-Gazette got a copy of PennDrive's April 26 letter from the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think tank that normally disagrees with Mr. Rendell's policies, but in this case favors his plan to lease the turnpike to a private operator.

Foundation President Matt Brouillette noted that the letter is unsigned, and questioned how many "individuals, businesses and organizations" are actually involved.

Mr. Brouillette, along with several other officials who didn't want to be named, say they're sure that Stevens & Lee, a law firm that hired former Sen. David Brightbill, R-Lebanon, is part of the coalition. Mr. Brightbill frequently clashed with Mr. Rendell from 2003 to 2006, but lost his re-election bid in 2006 because of his support for the 2005 legislative pay raises.

Mr. Brightbill has maintained a low profile since leaving office and couldn't be reached for comment.

Mr. Brouillette disputed the coalition's claim that turnpike tolls would go "sky high" and that thousands of jobs would be lost.

"The leasing contract that would be signed between the state and the private operator would more than likely put limits on toll increases and would specify how employees would be treated," he said.

But, since a private operator would be interested in cutting turnpike expenses, it's conceivable that the operator "would bring in efficiencies of operation which the patronage-laden turnpike commission has been unwilling to implement," he said.

These efficiencies might include more use of EZ-Pass, which would lessen the need for so many "$42,000-a-year toll collectors," Mr. Brouillette said.